Chapter Thirty-Nine
chapter thirty-nine
RAFAEL
“I can’t believe I’m standing next to the Rafael Deo in his kitchen.”
My face pulls into a confused frown. “Nico, you’ve stood next to me a lot of times now.”
“Yeah, but not in your kitchen!”
“Yes, you did.”
“Well, yeah, but it was shut down for renovations. It wasn't like this! You didn't have your coat on!”
Gianna snorts from where she stands on the other side of the serving line. “Careful, Nico. Don’t stand too close. Sometimes when it gets busy, he starts getting sweaty, and you don’t want to be around when that happens.”
I swat the hand towel at her, pulling a small laugh from her. It makes one creep up my own face.
“I don’t think I told you how much I love the new look,” she says.
I look up and around the restaurant. It truly looks like it was always supposed to be like this. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”
“I meant you. I don’t know if it’s the restaurant, or the girl who made out with you in front of everyone at the opening, but it’s nice to have you back, boss.” She smiles as she walks off .
Something pulls at my chest. I didn’t realize it was quite that obvious, that feeling inside of me, or more like the lack of a certain feeling, a certain heaviness. I feel like I’ve been walking around with a spring in my step, my chest feeling lighter lately.
“She’s right,” Nico says from beside me. “You’ve definitely been frowning less.” I frown over at him, and he just breaks out into a cackle. This time I don’t even try to hold in the smile that slips onto my face.
Nico is working as my sous chef tonight, he’s only got a week left here, and then I don’t know where he goes from here.
“So, what are you doing after this?”
“Hm?” His focus is fully on the Bolognese he’s mixing up beside me.
“What's next for you?”
His eyes snap to mine. “Are you asking me something about myself?”
“Don’t make me regret it.”
He snorts. “I don’t know, I need to find somewhere to put down roots. Somewhere I can build up my skills before I get to the stage where I could open my own place.”
“You’re young, you’ve got plenty of time.”
“Yeah,” he sighs. “I just want to find the right place.”
Gianna is back, picking up a plate and eavesdropping as per usual. She catches my eye and raises her eyebrows at me, tipping her head in Nico’s direction before she slips back out into the fold.
I know exactly what she’s thinking, because I've been thinking about it for a few weeks now. “You could stay here.”
The sound of a spoon clattering to the ground catches my attention. I look up to see Nico staring at me in shock, his wooden spoon on the floor along with a spattering of sauce.
“Well, not if you keep doing stuff like that.”
“ Merda ,” he swears, reaching down to pick up the spoon. “Are you like…kidding?”
“Do I look like I am?”
“Well, no, but you were joking around with Gianna earlier, and I can’t quite catch your mood. You’re somewhere between your grumpy self and this new chill, happy version of you, so I don’t really?—”
“For the love of god,” Gianna appears again. “Shut up.”
His mouth snaps shut, cutting off his rambling.
“I’m serious, Nico,” I assure him.
“You,” he points to me, “want me,” he points to himself, “to work here?” He gestures to the kitchen.
I scruff up his hair with my hand. “Such a smart boy.”
He swerves away from my touch. “Yeah, okay, not the hair.”
Gianna giggles again. “You’ll be good for him, keep him young.” She winks.
“Don’t you have plates to serve?” I ask. She grins at me before doing exactly that.
I draw my attention back to the meat that I’m searing in the pan in front of me. A small smile crawls onto my face. This is what it feels like, this is how I’m supposed to feel in the kitchen. I don’t know that there was one specific thing that made this feeling come back, I think it was a combination of things. But all of those things seem to somehow revolve around a certain blonde. Even the way that Nico and I had our one on one wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t renovated the place, and that was May’s idea.
“Rafael.”
“Yes, Nico?”
“Someone’s here to see you.”
I look up and my eyes immediately catch on my favorite pair of green eyes. May’s face lights up when she sees me and god, does that do things to me. She’s wearing a simple short black dress, paired with chunky heels, and to top it off, she’s wearing that damn red lipstick. She looks gorgeous in the dim lighting of Olive&Vine.
Nico peers over at me. “Are you blushing?”
“Shut up.” I throw my apron off. “Time for you to prove yourself.” I nod to the half-finished meal I’ve left in his hands and escape the heat of the kitchen.
I walk around the corner and into the restaurant. Gianna smirks as she passes me. “She’s at her table.”
I try to hide the grin that wants to explode on my face as I walk through the restaurant, right to the front where she’s sitting in a booth reserved for her.
“How did you know I was coming tonight?”
“I didn’t.” I slide into the booth next to her.
“Then why was this table reserved for me?”
I pull her legs over my lap under the table. “Because this is our table, or did you forget?” I slide my palm along the outside of her thigh.
She takes a second to think, but then a blush blooms on her face. “This is the table where we…”
“Uh-huh.” She wriggles her body closer to me. “This is our table. I don’t want anyone else sitting here, so it will be reserved for you every single night of the week.” Her eyes widen and her mouth opens the tiniest bit. “Don’t tempt me to smear that lipstick all across your face.”
She closes her mouth, and it pulls into a smirk. “You can if you want to.”
“I seem to recall you once upon a time saying that you never wanted people to think you were doing something raunchy with me of all people.”
She grabs my wrist, moving my hand under her skirt. “I changed my mind.”
My fingers connect with the lace of her panties. “Whitley,” I grind out.
She rolls her hips forward. “Yes?”
I close my eyes. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t you mean what are we doing?”
I open my eyes just in time to see hers flutter closed as I run my finger along the length of her pussy. “I want to do more than just tease you right now. ”
“Then do it,” she breathes.
I can’t help myself, not as my finger slips under the edge of her panties, not as I feel how wet she is, not when she lets out a shuddering breath.
“Rafael,” she breathes.
I shake my head ever so slightly. “I am so obsessed with you.”
Her eyes meet mine, and I want to kiss her so damn badly, but I don’t want to ruin her makeup. So instead I push a finger inside of her.
She gasps quietly, doing her best to be discreet, but the way her eyes are hooded over give her away.
“Is this what you like Whitley? Having to keep those pretty moans of yours in while you get finger fucked in front of a restaurant full of people?”
She leans her head back against the seat, screwing her eyes shut as I curl my finger, hitting the spot that I know usually makes her scream.
She whimpers as I pump my finger in and out of her, adding another one as she begins riding my hand.
“Rafael.”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Oh, I’m so close.” She puts her head on my shoulder, keeping her face hidden from view as she bites down on my shoulder, moaning into my skin.
Her hips move frantically beneath the table, and I keep my pace as I feel her inner walls clench around my fingers. She moans behind closed lips.
“That’s it, beautiful.”
Her hand flies up to grip my bicep hard as her hips jerk, her orgasm slamming into her, leaving my fingers drenched.
She leaves her head on my shoulder, panting as she comes down from the high. I slide my fingers out of her and bring them up to my mouth. May’s hazy eyes lock with mine as I suck her arousal off my fingers. The taste of her makes my dick harder than it already was, making my pants tight .
Without taking my eyes off my girl, I grab a napkin from the center of the table and dry my fingers.
“Hey!” May jumps as Gianna appears at the table. “Are you guys eating tonight?”
I smirk. “Did you work up an appetite?”
May’s eyes are wide as she looks over at me, pinching my arm beneath the table. Gianna looks between us, a suspicious look on her face.
“She’ll have the fettuccine,” I say. Gianna scribbles it down and skates off, leaving us alone so May can smack my arm.
“Oh my god!” Her face is flushed with pink. “She knew.”
I chuckle. “She won’t say a word. You’re lucky Nico’s in the kitchen tonight.”
She throws her hands over her face sinking down into her seat. “We can’t ever do that again.”
“Why not? It was your idea.”
“A bad one.”
“It didn’t taste like that.”
“Rafael!” She’s giggling behind her hands. She peeks through her fingers. “This table is really always going to be reserved for me?”
“Always. It’ll be here for whenever you want to be.”
She threads her fingers through my hair. “Thank you.”
I pull one of her hands away from her head, pressing a kiss to her palm. “You’re welcome.”
“This fettuccine better be good. You were right—I did work up an appetite.”